Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson ( Jun 02/00) - Fort Simpson is a step closer to a new power distributor, but the NWT Power Corp. isn't going to give up without a fight.

At an emergency meeting Tuesday, village council chose Jupiter Power International Inc. as the distributor of power for the community, subject to public approval and endorsement of the Public Utilities Board (PUB).

Jupiter had already been selected by council as the tentative generator of power for the community, but the door had been left open for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) to retain the distribution side of the deal -- until Tuesday.

Mayor Norm Prevost met with Gordon Stewart, chair of the Power Corp.'s board of directors, last Friday and said Stewart told him that the Power Corp. plans to intervene in Jupiter's application to the PUB.

"He said the Power Corp. plans to fight this every step of the way," Prevost told council. "Basically the Power Corp. has said they don't want to be part of what's going on here."

Furthermore, he said Stewart demanded to know the price Jupiter was offering the village to generate power. That had been kept under wraps until a motion was passed at Tuesday's meeting to release the numbers to the public, now that a generator and distributor have been selected.

In an interview with the Drum, Stewart acknowledged that NTPC had requested Jupiter's price to generate power, but only because that number was pertinent to submit "a complete" generation proposal.

"It was never made clear whether they were looking for a distributor or a franchisee ... we just asked for a little more in-depth detail so we could give them what they were looking for," Stewart said.

He said he expects the Power Corp. will intervene if Jupiter and the village make an application to the utilities board.

"We know what it costs to run a utility up here. We want to ensure, if in fact people are taking on a new utility to replace us, that we're all talking about the same thing," he said. "(But) if somebody can do it that much cheaper and they've covered off all the bases, then we better learn from that as well for the rest of our communities."

Before the process gets to the PUB, council agreed that a public meeting and a plebiscite for all residents is in order first. A date wasn't set for the public meeting, but it will likely be discussed further at Monday's regular village council meeting.

Prevost said village energy consultant Dennis Bevington suggested that an information package be given to residents prior to the meeting so they could ask more informed questions. All the figures should be included, Prevost added.

If the public is in favour of Jupiter's offer, the question remains over the Power Corp.'s power plant and distribution assets.

Prevost said if an application is made, the PUB could appoint an arbitrator to put a sale price on the assets if they are not gifted (given for free) by the GNWT as the village has requested. If it's decided the assets will be sold, but the price is too high, Jupiter can replace all the equipment and still offer a lower price, according to Prevost.

Stewart said the Power Corp. won't pre-judge the outcome of the plebiscite or the PUB review, therefore NTPC won't yet make plans for its assets or regional office in Fort Simpson.

A copy of the power generation figures could not be obtained prior to press deadline.